From Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08), who has been all over this since the beginning…
Beyer Statement On Misleading Claims About Jared Kushner’s Security Clearance
May 23, 2018 (Washington, D.C.) – Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement on reports that Jared Kushner had been granted a permanent security clearance:
“Today the White House and Jared Kushner’s representatives are saying that the decision to grant Mr. Kushner’s clearance was made by career personnel, and that this decision was the deserved outcome of an above-board process. Both claims are false or misleading.
The suggestion that Kushner was granted a clearance by ‘career’ personnel and not at the discretion of the White House directly contradicts the FBI’s explanation to me about the process for adjudication of security clearances. The FBI wrote to me last year after I asked questions about Kushner’s security clearance, and said that ‘the granting or suspension of Mr. Kushner’s clearance would be the responsibility of the client adjudication entity, in this case, the White House.’
The suggestion that Mr. Kushner has been adequately forthcoming during this process, or that he deserves a security clearance, is belied by his constant failure to honestly disclose his foreign contacts and business conflicts, and to properly complete his ethics filings. Kushner had to update his SF-86 multiple times after failing to disclose connections with foreign officials in entities, including an attempt to set up a back-channel communication with the Kremlin. He has also been fined for repeated failure to file ethics disclosures.
Jared Kushner does not deserve a permanent security clearance. Kushner has been deceptive and dishonest, and there are many reasonable questions about whose interests he is serving in his efforts to influence US foreign policy. The fact that the White House retained him in his position and granted him this security clearance is the clearest evidence yet that Congress needs to step in and create new safeguards for this process, which it should do by passing legislation I put forward: the Security Clearance Review Act.”
A copy of the FBI letter explaining the process by which permanent security clearances are granted to personnel employed by the Executive Office of the President is available here.
Rep. Beyer was the first Member of Congress to call for the suspension of Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner’s security clearance, following the revelation of myriad omissions on Kushner’s SF-86. Beyer later led 50+ Democrats seeking revocation of Kushner’s clearance, and has led Congressional oversight efforts related to clearance issues with Ivanka Trump and Stephen Miller.
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